


There Are No More Strings on Me

by buckybin



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-11-26 03:34:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20923499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckybin/pseuds/buckybin
Summary: A 1920s alternate universe reimagining of Avengers: Age of Ultron





	1. Prologue

**November 12, 1918**

“Why the long face?” Natasha asked as she walked up to the bar where Tony was sitting alone, brooding. Tony didn’t respond. It was was the day after Armistice Day. The world was celebrating the end of the World War. Peace had only come because of S.T.A.R, Thor, and Iron Man’s defeat of Loki, the real villain behind the war. The streets of New York City were filled with dancing, happy, delusional people. The club was full of joyous people drinking and dancing and smoking cigars. But, of course, in all the hubbub, Tony was sitting alone, moping. Natasha ordered a drink to break the silence.

“One Kvass, please.” Kvass was the only thing that brought Natasha back to her homeland, Russia. There, she was a guard for the royal family, before she fled during the Bolshevik Revolution. The bartender handed it to her, and she and Tony sat in icy silence once again. After what felt like an eternity, Tony broke the silence with the first words he’d said all night outside of asking for more scotch.

“ What if it happens again? Gods, monsters, world wars, we can’t stop them. We almost destroyed the world trying to stop Loki. What happens if they send someone stronger? Who’s going to stop them? Who, Natasha? Because it sure as hell isn’t going to be us. And when that thing that is inevitably going to come, that thing that we can’t defeat, what’s going to happen? Will we die? Will everyone?”

Natasha had no answer.


	2. Four Years Later

Natasha had kept busy the four years after the war. Missions from S.T.A.R. filled up her time. And yet, even after four years, Tony’s question still haunted Natasha. She still had no answers. Tony himself had withdrawn from public and hero life, and nobody had seen him in years. When Natasha finally managed to track him down, she was shocked at what she found.

Tony was living in a tiny midtown apartment in Manhattan, which was the first surprise. Tony had always been known for his lavish mansions in the Hamptons. The second surprise came when Natasha actually walked into the apartment. The apartment was completely disheveled, with each open surface covered with another strange gizmo or contraption. Tony was normally messy, but this was extreme. It looked as if the place hadn’t been cleaned in years. And yet, in the center of the room, stood Tony’s Iron Man suit, seemingly untouched since the battle with Loki. Surrounding the suit were exact copies of it, but each one had a different sort of mechanical contraption on it. They had brains made of bolts, or hearts made of gears, or a third mechanical arm, and so on. It was almost like a sculpture in its complexity. Natasha stood in a stunned silence.

“Tony? Are you here?” she finally said after several minutes of stunned silence. Natasha looked around once again, trying to find any signs that an actual person lived there. Then, she heard a few metallic clanking sounds, before Tony came out from under the mess.

“Tony, what happened?” Tony looked older, more worn down. He had become thinner, his hair had greyed, and he had dark bags under his eyes. This man was no longer the confident, handsome, outgoing Tony she once knew. War had changed him.

“Natasha I-” Tony paused for a moment. “Remember that question I asked you at the bar four years ago?”

“Yes,” Natasha said sheepishly, as she had been spending these four years trying to forget it.

“Well,” Tony said with a crazy look in his eyes, “I’ve been trying to answer it.”

“Tony, what are you talking about?”

“A protection system,” Tony said, “almost like a suit of armor for the world. When the next threat comes, it will protect us.”

“What?”

“And I’m almost done.” Natasha looked at him in disbelief. “I just need the right...materials…” Tony muttered.

“Listen, Tony, I have no idea what you are talking about, but it sounds to me like you need a break.”

“No, Natasha, what I need is-“

“Tony, listen to me. I’m going to take you somewhere that only the higher-ups at S.T.A.R know about. I’m technically not supposed to bring you there, but I’m going to because I think it’s what you need to quell your fears, okay?”

“Okay…” Tony muttered in response.

~

Tony was scared out of his mind when he found out that he would be taking a plane to Natasha’s “secret place”. After all, he had never been in one before. Aviation had been a fairly new development, but of course Natasha knew how to fly. Still, Tony was reluctant to board the plane, but was eventually convinced, and reluctantly got on. Tony’s only job on the flight was navigation, and yet Natasha only gave him the map to where they were going many hours into the trip. “Africa?” Tony asked, “What is there for me in Africa?” “Trust me, you’ll get it when we get there.”

~

Tony stepped out into the bright sunlight and looked around. He saw astounding technology. He watched a group of young girls run past, giggling. Soon after, a group of men strolled by wearing blankets with a silvery metal in them. His eyes were soon drawn up to the city around him. It looked like a scene out of a science fiction novel. Each one of the buildings must’ve been at least two times taller than the Empire State Building. Finally, he looked past the buildings to see a giant metal panther in the mountains.

“Nat, where are we? This must be some sort of crypto-heaven.”

“Tony, welcome to Wakanda.”  
Tony spent another ten minutes simply marveling at the wonders of Wakanda. After he got over the shock of what he was seeing, he soon began analyzing the technology around him.

“Yes, that’s...perfect.” He muttered to himself.

“Pardon?”

Tony turned, startled by a voice he didn’t recognize.

“Hello Tony, I’m Shuri. It’s very nice to finally meet you.”

“Erm...hello. So…you knew I was coming?”

“Oh yes, we saw your primitive air travel from miles away. But regardless, Natasha told me you were coming. You seem fascinated with our technology. Would you like a tour of our labs?”

“Yes, that would be amazing. It’s astounding how you’ve developed all of this in such a short time. After all, I only found out about your nation today.”

“Oh, Tony. Wakanda has been around for longer than even we can remember. Now, come along, We can’t stand around here forever.”


End file.
